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We could give this PODCAST a variety of titles: The Ballad of the Broken and Battered Woman; or The Indignation of the Idolatrous “Holy” Man. I prefer the title, Oh.My.Word, for reasons that you will soon hear.
We begin with Luke 7:36-39
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. 37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
You see, we have come to a tipping point in the life and ministry of Jesus. After this encounter with a broken woman and a “holy” man, things will never again be the same for Jesus.
Keep in mind “It is today as it was then”. The names and places may have changed, but the circumstances played out over 2,000 years ago still work their way into our world today.
Also, keep in mind that in addition to Jesus, we have two other characters in this particular story: Simon the Pharisee and the woman who Simon called a “sinner”. Then, of course, we have Jesus who reveals as much of Simon’s mind and heart as He does the woman’s… as He does ours.
But, before we dive into this story, I want to share another:
Let’s look at another Jesus story from John, chapter 5:
39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.
You see, too often, the people of Jesus’ time, including Simon the Pharisee, placed the Bible as a higher priority than Jesus, Himself. We even “worship” the pages more than their author sometimes. This is evidenced by how we respond to people – often broken people – who want nothing but to rest and weep at Jesus’ feet.
From this point in Jesus’ story on, the full fury of the religious leaders will come to full flower as a result of this one meal that Jesus shared with this one man and one woman.
The woman simply wanted the rest that Jesus’ yoke offered. Simon Pharisee wanted dinner with another “church leader”. Jesus knew what he was thinking, as we see in Luke 7:40:
40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”
“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”
“That’s right,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
50 And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I am all about the Bible. I believe that every single word of scripture is God-breathed. I am not, in any way depreciating the value of the Bible and sound doctrine. But I can’t escape the imploring words that Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:
5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 6 But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. 7 They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently.
Do you see the difference between who or what do we worship?
Jesus, Himself, set the perspective appropriately when a Pharisee tried to trip Him up:
35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”